Yourovision Song Contest 24
|Row 5 title = Host |Row 5 info = TessHex |Row 6 title = Grand Final |Row 6 info = 30th January 2016 |Row 7 title = Winner |Row 7 info = "Klein Blue" |Row 8 title = Timeline |Row 8 info = ◄ 23 file:Eurovision Heart.png 25 ►|image = File:24_the_end_of_ball.png|caption = Rhythm In Motion}} Welcome to '''your' Eurovision Song Contest.'' This was the twenty-fourth edition of the Yourovision Song Contest, to take place in Antwerp, after Belgium's success in Oslo in the previous edition. At thirty-nine participant nations, this edition was the biggest in terms of countries taking part, although this does not represent the largest turnout of users for a single edition. This also marks the first time that seven qualifiers per semi-final constitutes a minority, rather than a majority or an even divide, compared to countries that will not qualify. The song for San Marino was selected through the Voice for Yourovision format, in collaboration with the format of the previous year's Yourovision Battle Royale, to create the one-off Voice for Yourovision Battle Royale show, which also featured songs from Turkey, Malta, Estonia, South Korea, Latvia, Israel and Andorra. Ultimately, another user selected a song for Estonia, and the remaining countries went unrepresented in this edition. In addition to this, the song for Belgium was selected by way of a last-minute national final. Due to the large number of participating songs, and the "staggeringly high quality" of every entry, the executive producer of the contest chose to allow an additional qualifier from each semi-final, bringing the number of qualifiers up from 7 per semi-final, to 8, meaning that 16 countries qualify instead of 14, such that the final is 18 songs long, instead of the standard 16. This contest featured both the largest number of participant songs, and the most artists who have represented a country in the contest in at least one prior edition, in the history of the contest. The record was previously held by the eighteenth edition, at 30 songs and 10 returning artists, respectively. However, the twentieth edition continues to hold the record for most individual users taking part. Edition 24 - Antwerp - Rhythm In Motion After due consideration, following the announcement of Belgium as the victor of the twenty-third contest, Antwerp was selected as the host for the follow-up edition. The slogan "Rhythm In Motion" had already been chosen, to reflect the joy and vivacity of the confluence of music and movement, as a metaphor for taking heart in life, and was cemented as the slogan following the success of Loïc Nottet's song "Rhythm Inside" at the most recent edition of the Eurovision Song Contest prior to this edition of this contest. The dates for this edition were: Participation deadline/Semi-final voting begins: 9th January, 2016 Semi-final voting deadline: 20th January, 2016 Grand Final voting begins: 21st January, 2016 Grand Final: 30th January, 2016 Participants Returning Artists Semi-Final 1 The eight top-scoring countries will advance to the Grand Final. ¹Disqualified for failing to vote. Semi-Final 2 The eight top-scoring countries will advance to the Grand Final. Grand Final Eight countries from each semi-final will join the two auto-qualified countries, sent by the previous edition's winner, to make up a final consisting of eighteen songs. Timeline Category:Yourovision Song Contest Category:Contests